Race in Aladdin

Although I didn't attend the lecture on Aladdin, I have my own ideas in how race is represented in the animated film. I believe the film incorporates dominant (white) hegemomic ideas and values through Aladdin and the 'baddies'. Without getting to caught up in the storyline, I will try to concentrate solely on race portrayals in a nutshell. It is argued that Aladdin is to some degree 'white' when compared to the baddies. He is handsome and dresses in traditional wear however compared to the bad guys, who wear 'covered' clothing, Aladdin wears an open shirt, showing his abs as well as long jet black hair. More significantly are the facial features of both. Aladdin ultimately has 'white' features. This is most obvious in his nose, whereby his and also the nose of Jasmine are small and petite and the baddies are given big pointy noises, stereotypical of middle eastern/indian countries. It is also interesting to note other animated films where nose size is crucial in depicting a person as either good or bad. Usually the bad are given exaggerated nose characteristics, perhaps to liken them to witches, however an underlying idea likens them more to foreigners. This incorporates hegemonic ideas because even in stroylines which include characters of other races, the good are almost always given white characteristics whereas the bad are given those typical to that race.

Burden of Representation

I found the notion of the Burden of Representation quite interesting. My understanding (from memory) of it is that a minority group that has been missing from the media for some time who is then portrayed in the media by perhaps, an individual or small group, then represent the whole racial group. This is precisely the 'burden' in which that individual or small group as they carry a huge responsibility in representing their race. On the contrary, it is perhaps an even greater burden on those who are being represented by these individuals. An example that comes to mind is Police Ten 7, whereby many of the 'criminals' but also innocent witnesses are of, or given maori or pacific island characteristics, even the white. Moreover, its not only maori or pacific islanders that are represented in the series, but also the areas in which the conflicts are filmed. For example "in South Auckland suburb, Mangere, Constable Nichols is called in to mediate a domestic arguement between a maori couple." This is just one example of the similar narration adopted by the series. Another example in which thier is a Burden of Representation are popular reality TV shows such as 'The Jersey Shore". The series surrounds the party life of 'guedos' and 'guedettes' which can be described as the 'typical' lifestyle, including the look, fashion sense and attitudes of Italians. This caused quite some controversey when it was revealed that some of the characters were'nt even of italian descent, thereby they were 'acting' italian. This caused quite some outrage amongst italians as not only were they represented as vain, party animals with fake tans and big hair, but those that were representing them weren't even italian. This, to me, is of significance when analysing the Burden of Representation, whereby those who are represented are not only represented by a small group, but sometimes by groups that aren't even of the same race.